Clean Energy for All with Stand-alone Solar Power Generation System “Power Supply Station”

Worldwide, there are approximately 1.1 billion people who have no access to electricity. Roughly 400 million people in Asia and 600 million in Africa live their lives without electric power. Regions without electricity face various challenges. For instance, kerosene lamps, which are often used in place of electric lights, emit carbon dioxide and can cause fires, and their smoke causes health problems. The high cost of fuel also puts pressure on family budgets. Despite these challenges, people use them for light.

Panasonic's Eco Solutions Company hopes that by delivering clean energy to these regions it can create value through improvements in the quality of life, create more education opportunities, create jobs, improve economic capacity, and revitalize communities, thereby contributing to the creation of sustainable local communities. The Company launched this project in 2012, and by leveraging Panasonic's solar power generation and storage technologies, it began developing power generation equipment that is easy to transport and install in any environment. Then, in 2014, it created the Power Supply Station (PSS).

The PSS is a stand-alone power generation system that combines a storage battery (total capacity 17 kWh) with the highly efficient solar battery panel HIT® (maximum power generation capacity of 3 kW). The main unit is enclosed in a steel cabinet after undergoing quality assurance at a Panasonic factory, so the PSS is extremely compact and laborsaving in its transport and installation. The installed power supply management system monitors the storage levels and controls the amount of power supplied, so it requires less on-site maintenance and management, making it easy to use even in mountainous areas, on remote islands, and in other inaccessible regions. Panasonic has already introduced the PSS in Indonesia and Myanmar, and it is taking a trial-and-error approach in assessing the state of its required performance and equipment, how to install and manage the PSS, and how to build relationships with local communities, all while taking into account the specific needs and issues facing these varied regions.

Indonesia—one of the nations in which the PSS business is underway—is comprised of more than 13,000 islands. As of 2016, 9% of its population did not have access to electricity, and people living on remote islands or in mountainous regions face various challenges due to this lack of access. In fiscal 2015, PSS projects were adopted by the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia for the Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security Projects (ODA projects). Since then, Panasonic has been deploying the PSS in locations in four different regions.

One of these locations is Rarak-Rongis, a village on Sumbawa island that struggled with the challenges of obtaining access to electricity and clean water. The well water in the village was of poor quality, and the wells had even run dry, so the village was unable to stably secure water. The only power in the village was irregularly supplied through a diesel generator, but with PSS solar power generation, the village was able to run their Clean Water Supply System, which is a water purification system made by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.. This gave the villagers access clean water any time. The village’s water management association also plans to sell clean water to surrounding areas, which promises to lead to a source of income and maintenance funds for the village.

In Myanmar, another of the project's target areas, it is said that approximately 68% of the population has no electricity, the highest figure among ASEAN nations. In Yin Ma Chaung village, which had no electricity, Panasonic introduced the PSS in collaboration with Thailand's MFL Foundation, which is working to support quality-of-life improvements. This project was made possible through a donation from Mitsui & Co., which approved the goals of the MFL Foundation’s activities.

Yin Ma Chaung is a settlement of roughly 140 households located in central Myanmar. This region is inhabited by Russell's vipers, known for their lethal venom, and there are frequent reports of poisonous snake bites . These often occur when people are walking at night, and many of the injured are unable to walk or even die. The PSS allowed the village to power LED street lamps, making it safer to walk at night. The village is now also able to store poisonous viper serum in its refrigerators and provide it to its residents and those of the surrounding villages, raising the level of security of the entire region.

When delivering power to the various regions of the world, we must carefully consider the local environment, its geographical features, and various conditions, including transport and installation. For instance, the method of transport will differ for an island nation, like Indonesia, than for a continent, like Africa. Furthermore, in countries that have not made much progress in electricity infrastructure, the awareness of and knowledge about the convenience and use of electricity will be lower than that of countries that have made relatively good progress. There are significant risks in using electricity without knowing anything about it.

We have had such experiences in the regions that were used for trial installations of the PSS. When visiting a village that had no electricity one month after the PSS was installed, there was an increase in electric fans and lights throughout the village. The villagers were even using household storage batteries and storing electricity without permission. This resulted in usage levels far beyond expectations, which led to a system shutdown. We had initially explained the usage levels and how to use the system, but it appeared that we needed to be even more careful.

Providing electricity is not as simple as just delivering a product. It starts with area surveys and communicating with the locals before installation, and with follow-up checks thereafter. It requires continuous activity over a very long time span. This is why it is important to build strong ties to local communities through cooperation with NGOs, NPOs, the Japanese embassy, and the system integrators that will take care of the technical matters. By working with on-site partners, we can communicate better with local people. We can work together to consider the issues and their solutions, develop effective approaches and systems, and provide technical support that is closely tied to the community.

The PSS business—driven by the idea of delivering clean energy to the whole world—is certainly an initiative for realizing Goal #7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): affordable and clean energy. In addition, by making electricity accessible, the project leads to improvements in access to education, health care, and safe water, thereby contributing to other SDGs. In the long term, Panasonic believes it is possible that the use of the PSS could lead to the cultivation of industry and eradication of poverty.

In addition to solving social issues, the project also has a positive effect on Panasonic's business. For example, Panasonic has been involved in the solar panel sales business in Indonesia for some time, but the PSS project has improved our brand image and made our advertising more effective. The PSS was built to monitor and gather data on the amount of power generated and used, so it has been useful in product development and marketing, as we have gathered and analyzed data related to storage battery consumption, product life spans, and maintenance.

However, the project has also seen its share of challenges. The strength of the PSS is its compact size. Nevertheless, it weighs a total of one tonne, so we would like to break it up further in the pursuit of an even more compact size. Moreover, while its package design and on-site ease-of-installation are very attractive, users can only begin to use it once installation is complete. To differentiate it from conventional products that are brought in in separate modules and assembled on-site, we plan to improve the PSS's performance as a complete product.